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Carter Otto caught a 57-yard pass — the Elks' lone pass of the game — and ran into the end zone as time ran out.

Elk River's Carter Otto (25) makes a catch leading to the game-winning 57-yard touchdown in the final seconds of Saturday's matchup against Moorhead. Otto's fifth TD capped a 58-55 win in the Class 5A quarterfinal. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

Joe Nordstrom (3) finds a hole and scores on a 32-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter. Nordstrom found the end zone three times in Elk River's 58-55 win over Moorhead. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

Fans in Monticello’s Memorial Stadium who stayed despite Saturday’s wind and rain were treated to a Class 5A semifinal that everyone there will remember, as a 57-yard touchdown pass from Elk River senior quarterback Beau Ruby to junior running back Carter Otto in the closing seconds stunned Moorhead in a 58-55 Elks’ win.

After Moorhead went ahead for the first time on a Trey Feeney pass to Blake Walthall with 13 seconds remaining, the Spuds kicked off to the Elks. Otto caught the lone Elk River pass of the game, breaking a few tackles to sprint into the end zone and carry the Elks into the Class 5A semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium next week.

“[Otto] was our best player last year as a sophomore,” Elk River coach Steven Hamilton said. “Having both Otto and [senior running back] Joe [Nordstrom], who missed last season with an illness, was big for us. In my 22 years, I’ve never won a game like that.”

Photo Gallery: Moorhead vs. Elk River

It was a back-and-forth game from the start, but the tone of battle was set just two plays in, as Otto took a handoff from Ruby and ran it 61 yards for his first of six touchdowns.

Big plays were found throughout the game on both sides. By the time the final whistle blew to close the game, Elk River (11-1) had touchdowns of 61, 32, 12, 61, 75, 42, 70, and 57 yards, while Moorhead had touchdowns of 15, 32, 13, 17, 62, and 33 yards.

“Moorhead was stacked up,” Otto said. “We knew if we broke through the secondary we were gone.”

Moorhead (8-4) and Elk River had nearly polar opposite offensive philosophies throughout the season, with Moorhead relying on its air game and Elk River being its usual run-heavy self. But both teams got offense from their lesser-used phase of the game, as the Spuds ran for 160 yards, including Feeney’s 84 yards and three TDs.

Only six of the game’s 21 drives ended without a touchdown, and of those six, three ended on turnovers (two by Moorhead, one by Elk River). Moorhead made two stops in a desperate fight in the second half, hoping to stay competitive.

“It was a grind,” Otto said. “They gave us a great fight throughout the game.”

That 16-point halftime deficit turned into three at the end of the third quarter, as the Spuds scored twice — one TD pass from Feeney to junior wide receiver Jacqui Fitzpatrick and a rushing touchdown by Feeney.

A missed two-point conversion after the Fitzpatrick touchdown was significant, as it helped keep the Elks out to a two score lead through much of the fourth quarter as they traded touchdowns with the Spuds.

“We’ve had a lot of games like this over the last couple of years,” Hamilton said. “It’s a credit to the kids that they continued to believe that we could win.”

An Elk River punt gave the Spuds the ball on the 1-yard-line with just over a minute left on the clock. Undeterred, Feeney led his team on a nine-play, 99-yard drive that finished with a 33-yard TD to Walthall with just 13 seconds left.

“Everyone was down [after that],” Otto said. “But I knew that if we called a pass play, we could score at any time.”

The Elks returned the ensuing kickoff out to their own 36-yard line. They ran one last run play, which was a 7-yard handoff to Otto, and then dialed up their only passing play of the entire game.

“We were saving that play all year for that,”Hamilton said. “We had guys step up.”

Elk River will meet last year’s Class 5A state runner-up, St. Thomas Academy, in next week’s semifinal game

Blake Walthall (8) scores on a 32-yard reception that gave Moorhead a 55-52 lead over Elk River with 13 seconds left. The Spuds fell to the Elks 58-55 in the final seconds of the Class 5A quarterfinal Saturday. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

First report

Move over, Minneapolis Miracle, you’ve got some high school competition. Elk River knocked off Moorhead, 58-55, on a last-second 57-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Beau Ruby to junior running back Carter Otto on Saturday in Monticello.

After a 99-yard drive in the closing minute, Moorhead (8-4) took its first lead of the game with 13 seconds left on the clock on a 33-yard touchdown pass from Trey Feeney to junior receiver Blake Walthall. But then Ruby and Otto connected to help the Elks advance to the Class 5A state semifinals.

Otto had a monster game for the Elks (11-1), finishing with 20 carries for 265 yards, five TDs and four two-point conversions. He caught the lone Elk River pass of the game.

Feeney, Moorhead’s junior quarterback, completed 33 of 46 passes for 436 yards and five TDs with two interceptions. He also rushed 18 times for 84 yards and three TDs.